Writer In Residence

Inside the Writer’s Head: May 15

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Sandy Bolek Posted in Emma Carlson Berne .

As of today, I’ve been the writer-in-residence for about five months. I’m a little less than halfway through the residency, and I’ve done four interviews for the Inside the Writer’s Head podcast. This is one of my very favorite parts of being the library’s WIR. For one thing, I get to go use the library’s Makerspace recording booth on the second floor of the Main Library. If you haven’t seen it, go check it out. Is it very cool. It’s also guaranteed to make you feel like Terry Gross just by stepping inside. The

Inside the Writer’s Head Post, Season 3: Episode 4

Posted on May 10, 2018 by Sandy Bolek Posted in Emma Carlson Berne, Kids, Podcast, Writing .

The Library Foundation’s Writer-in-Residence Emma Carlson Berne talks with Gene Luen Yang, author of the “Secret Coders” series. Subscribe and leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts.

Inside the Writer’s Head: April 27

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Sandy Bolek Posted in Emma Carlson Berne .

I’ve always been a private sort of writer. I prefer the writing I do to be “not about me.” I write other people’s topics, because I’m a writer who is usually commissioned. Sometimes, my name’s not even on what I write—someone else’s name is, because the work is ghostwritten. And in the past, I’ve preferred it that way. When something personal creeps into my writing, it’s usually well-disguised. A person close to me died many years ago. I didn’t do much writing about this death. But in one of my novels, I found myself

Inside the Writer’s Head: April 17

Posted on April 17, 2018 by admin Posted in Emma Carlson Berne, Writing .

Today, I started a new project. Folks, it was hard. The bells of self-doubt were pealing in my mind. Self-loathing was knocking at the door. “Who the hell do you think you are, calling yourself a writer?” asked a scornful voice in my head. “Go back to kitchen and make me some lunch. That’s what you’re good for.” Needless to say, I tried to ignore those voices. I tried to think about what I really wanted to write, what I really wanted to say. This is hard for me since after writing many years

Inside the Writer’s Head Post, Season 3: Episode 3

Posted on April 15, 2018 by Sandy Bolek Posted in Emma Carlson Berne, Podcast, Writing .

In this episode of Inside the Writer’s Head, Writer-in-Residence Emma Carlson-Berne talks with Teri Robida, an editor at American Girl Publishing. They discuss the ins and outs of editing and publishing for the American Girl doll book series. Teri talks about the history of American girl dolls books and how they are unique from different publishers and presses. They also talk about what the job of an editor is like; from reading and developing stories to giving feedback with care. If you’re looking for great insight on publishing, and writing advice straight from an editor,

Inside the Writer’s Head: April 5

Posted on April 5, 2018 by Sandy Bolek Posted in Emma Carlson Berne, Writing .

Thank you all so much for coming to the writer’s workshop on March 24! To say that I was nervous is like saying the Beatles were cute. But because of your benevolence and not my competence, I managed to get through it without total personal self-annihilation. And I hope a few of my fellow writers left feeling supported and confident. I’m going to post my PowerPoint here on this blog, if you couldn’t make it, and for the next three posts or so, I’m going to put up chunks of the presentation, in the

Inside the Writer’s Head: March 26

Posted on March 26, 2018 by Sandy Bolek Posted in Emma Carlson Berne, Writing .

Depending on what kind of person you are, Beginning A Novel can be either intensely exciting or extremely anxiety-provoking. I tend to steer more on the anxiety side of things, so when I’ve begun stories in the past, I’ve found the following thoughts helpful: First of all, don’t be afraid that your ideas aren’t original. In fact, they are not. All of the good ideas were taken long ago – like since the beginning of storytelling. Great stories aren’t about mind-blowing rethinking of literature. They’re about good storytelling. Think of that friend who can

Inside the Writer’s Head Post, Season 3: Episode 2

Posted on March 19, 2018 by Sandy Bolek Posted in Emma Carlson Berne, Kids, Writing .

On this episode of Inside the Writer’s Head, Writer-in-Residence Emma Carlson-Berne speaks with award-winning science and history author Mary Kay Carson – who has authored more than 50 titles for kids. They talk about how Carson transitioned from magazine editing and science background to writing kids books for a living. Carson gives her tips for writing kids non-fiction, and the joys of doing research on complex topics to find the interesting stories they can tell. The authors discuss Carson’s award-winning series “Scientists in the Field” and how Carson gets those stories by following scientists

Inside the Writer’s Head: March 6

Posted on March 6, 2018 by Sandy Bolek Posted in Emma Carlson Berne, Imagination, Writing .

I’ve been prepping for the first Writer-in-Residence workshop this week, an experience which has been truly eye-opening. I am a self-taught writer, in a sense. My degrees are in English Lit and in Composition-Rhetoric, both of which are about words but neither of which center on writing as a craft. I’ve taken a few creative writing classes and I certainly learned how do graduate-level research (thank you, Miami University!) but I’ve never, let’s say, been through an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) program where you learn on a high level HOW.TO.WRITE. Mostly, I’ve learned

Inside the Writer’s Head Post, Season 3: Episode 1

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Sandy Bolek Posted in Emma Carlson Berne, Podcast, Writing .

In the first episode of Season 3 of Inside the Writer’s Head, the new Writer-in-Residence Emma Carlson Berne sits down to talk with Linda Leopold Strauss. Strauss authors children’s picture books, and talks about the unique writing and approval process for creating engaging illustrated stories for kids. She talks about the joys and challenges of working closely with another artist, an illustrator, to create a picture book. Strauss shares how her background has influenced her career, and how she uses it to enhance her storytelling for kids. The two authors also discuss their highest

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